Nearly-two thirds (61 percent) of voters quizzed in the ComRes survey thought the proposed new track linking London with Northern cities will be "poor value for money”.

Four out of five people quizzed (79 percent) expect the costs of the massive engineering project to soar. And an overwhelming majority (85 percent) want the bulk Government’s rail budget spent on improving the capacity of existing railways.

The scathing public verdict on the Government's flagship transport construction project comes ahead of a debate in Parliament's Westminster Hall today [Wednesday] where a string of MPs will urge the Prime Minister to review the hugely expensive, taxpayer-funded project.

Senior Tory MP Sir William Cash, who called for the parliamentary debate, said: "Public opinion is turning against this project. It is a high-cost white elephant that will destroy the countryside. The money being paid to staff and consultants on the project is grotesque."

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The high-speed rail link, due to open its initial section in 2026, has been dogged by delays and growing concerns about the spiralling cost.

Paul Griffiths, the head of the northern section of the project, announced last week he will quit at the end of this year after it merged the second phase, from Manchester to Leeds, had been delayed by a year.

Today's ComRes poll, commissioned by the pressure group We, the People for the Daily Express, quizzed more 2,000 voters across the UK online from 7-9 September to gauge their views on the project.

Two thirds of those questioned (67 percent) did not think HS2 would benefit them personally at all.

More votes opposed the project (38 percent) than supported it (35 percent), the survey said.

An overwhelming majority of those questioned (85 percent) felt the Government should spend a planned £99 billion rail improvement fund on improving capacity on the existing network. Only 15 percent thought bulk of the cash should go to HS2.

Voters in the survey also expressed concerns about reports of the high salaries paid to staff working on the project, with more than one in four of the 1,346 employees involved said to earn more than £100,000 a year.

Seventy-two per cent of people asked agreed that HS2 was paying staff too much, the survey found, with the same percentage believing the Government was "unconcerned" about the total cost.

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Patrick Barrow, a spokesman for We, the People, said: “In HS2 we see again how tin-eared government can be in deciding how to spend the electorate’s money.

"This project has little to no resonance with the public who see it as ill-considered, expensive and largely pointless.

"Yet on they plough, oblivious to more pressing spending needs in defence, policing and social care.

"In the eyes of the public, it’s just another example of the disconnect in priorities between the rulers and the ruled.”

Senior Tory MP Sir William Cash (Image: UK PARLIAMENT)

We, the People is a cross-party campaign group that seeks to highlight a rift between the views of the Westminster establishment and ordinary voters across the country.

Other campaigners agreed that a public opposition to HS2 was growing.

Joe Rukin, a spokesman for the pressure group Stop HS2, said: "It has always been the case that if HS2 goes ahead, there will be no other investment on the railways for the next 20 years, with costs being allowed to spiral by consultants and civil servants who see HS2 as an opportunity to run their own gravy train.

"We are already seeing this, with rail investment projects all over the country being cut back and cancelled, meaning commuters up and down the country will continue to face crush hour conditions, because the priority of Government is to build their fast train for fat cats.

"If you really want to deliver rail capacity and help rebalance the economy, there are a plethora of projects that would deliver more benefits to more people, more quickly and for less money than HS2, and it is not too late to stop blowing billions on this white elephant."

Harry Fone, of the TaxPayers Alliance pressure group, said: "This poll should make it quite clear to the government that HS2 is a complete waste of taxpayers' money with little public support. The TaxPayers' Alliance has long called for it to be scrapped, it is already over budget and behind schedule. There are other more useful infrastructure projects where money would be better spent."

Defending the project, a spokeswoman for HS2 Ltd said: "Britain’s new high speed railway, HS2, is already having a transformative affect in towns, cities and regions across the UK, driving investment and regeneration outside the South East, rebalancing the UK economy.

"It is already providing jobs and developing skills, with 2,000 businesses already delivering work to support the project and 6,000 people throughout Britain employed directly or indirectly by HS2.

“Building on technology developed across the world over the past 50 years HS2 will increase rail capacity, boost reliability, reduce journey times and support transport infrastructure across the UK.

“HS2 remains on track and within our funding envelope."

The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "We are fully committed to the HS2 project. It will provide a vital infrastructure that will allow us to prosper long into the future."